A former Dzongkha teacher from Khudunabari Refugee Camp, Hem Tiwari, 48, was killed in a fatal vehicular crash Thursday afternoon in Newark, Ohio.
Popularly known as Chhunu Lopen among his students and colleagues, Tiwari was in the passenger seat of a car driven by Birkha Poudyel when the vehicle met with an accident with another car along Highway 62 eastbound.
Tiwari’s brother, Tej Tiwari, quoted a Licking Country Sheriff as informing the duo that he suffered spot death during the crash.
The driver and another passenger, Durga Khatiwada, are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Grant Medical Center.
The trio was heading for filling job applications in a local company where Tiwari was recently hired and scheduled to begin his work, according to his family sources.
Tiwari arrived in Raleigh, North Carolina through the federally funded third country resettlement program in 2010. Three years later, he moved to Columbus, Ohio.
A funeral ceremony has been scheduled for Feb 9, Tuesday, at 10 Am at Shaw Davis Funeral Home.
Meanwhile, the Bhutanese Nepali Community of Columbus said it has invited all community members for their presence during Tiwari’s final rituals.
His wife Mon Maya Tiwari, a daughter (20) and two sons (14 and 5) survive late Tiwari.
Contributed by Tara N Acharya from Columbus Ohio
